The present invention is in the field of product display apparatus for presenting products in a public setting, and pertains particularly to apparatus and methods for displaying products including product classes and categories using a same generic display base or constructed form capable of accepting a plurality of product class specific and/or product specific substantially planer members that function to indicate product class and/or type.
The art of creating display paraphernalia for public display of advertised products is one of the oldest of arts known. It is well-known that there are many existing varieties and styles of apparatus created specifically for product display that differ widely from one another in terms of design and construction. For example, there are folding backdrops, shelved backboards, pedestals, carousels, display cases, hanging racks, pinned backboards and all manner of other construction types available.
Generally speaking, successful public display of specific products or product classes requires considerable thought as to how the offered products will be presented to the public eye. For example, should the products be displayed at eye level? Should the products be presented with automated movement? What lighting levels should be applied if any? How far from a display location of the products should an indication of product class or type such as a banner or sign be visible and discernable?
There are many other questions in addition to the ones stated above that have arisen in the field and have had to be answered in some way before a quantifiable measure of success could be realized from how products are displayed. In the case of some product types, a proper display determines success or failure of a specific display presentation, with performance measured in number of units sold from the display over a given period of time. The art of creating product display environments is a science that takes considerable time to master.
An unsolved problem with conventional display apparatus is the generic nature of the display itself For example, a simple bookshelf can be used to display a wide variety of different products. However the physical presence and form of the bookshelf itself does not in any way indicate, for example, from any distance, exactly what products are presented in the display. Another example is a rotating pedestal display with product hooks or pins. The pedestal can present almost any product that can be suspended from a hook or pin, however indication of product class or specificity is not immediately discernable from a distance.
A solution to this problem has typically been to provide a sign that can be elevated above or near the display in some fashion to be visible from a distance, the sign telling the public at least the class type of the displayed product. Products displayed in front of folding backdrops rely on the banner displayed on the backdrop to identify the product class or product specificity. However, if one decides to change the product displayed from, for example, one product class to another in a same generic display, new signs have to be constructed or at least physically provided in place of the former signs.
What is clearly needed is a generic display base or constructed form that can accept one or more product class-specific or product-specific indicators for advertising display of each of disparate products in a manner that advertises the basic theme of the displayed product and wherein the advertised theme is recognizable from a considerable distance.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention a display construction for presenting products to the public is provided, comprising a construction base, and one or more planer members interfaceable to the construction base, characterized in that the planer members advertise product class by virtue of shape and, or product specificity by virtue of recognizable print or symbol, such that a user changing the type of product for display changes the planer members of the construction base to generally and particularly advertise the new product type or types currently being presented by the display.
In some embodiments the base is a turntable rotatably mounted to a stand. In other embodiments the base is a pedestal. In still other embodiments the base is wall mountable.
In particular embodiments of the invention the one or more planer members are affixed to the base by insertion and seating thereof into one or more slots provided in the base. Also in some the one or more planer members are slotted and adapted to fit together and be mounted to the base. In some cases one of the planer members may be a backboard removably affixed to a base portion of a wall-mounted display.
In some cases the display in embodiments of the invention further comprises one or more of shelves, hooks, pins, pegs, or standoffs. Also in some cases the planar members are notched to hook to the base. The base may be a suspended platform and the one or more planner members for the suspension arm of the display.
In another aspect of the invention a method for visually advertising a product type or types displayed to the public using a display construction having a construction base and one or more planer members interfaceable with the construction base is provided, comprising steps of (a) providing the one or more planer members in the form of at least a shape or profile of likeness to one or more entities publicly recognized as associated with the product type or types; (b) adding the planer member or members to the display construction base; (c) adding the initial product type or types to the display construction; (d) removing the initial product type or types from the display construction; (e) removing the planner member or members from the display construction; (f) adding a new planer member or members of the shape or likeness of one or more entities publicly recognized as associated with a next displayed product or products to the display construction base; and (g) adding the new product or products to the display construction.
In preferred embodiments of the method, in steps (a) and (f), one or more of the planer members further include print and or logo to identify product specificity. Also in preferred embodiments, in steps (b) and (f), adding the planer member or members involves inserting the member or members into a slot or slots. The base may be one of a pedestal, a suspended platform, a wall-mounted base, or a turntable. Also the base may be mounted to a wall and one of the planer members may be a backboard removably affixed thereto. In still other cases the base may be a suspended platform and one of the planer members forms the suspension arm of the platform.
In yet another aspect of the invention a display apparatus for suggesting a three-dimensional entity is provided, comprising a first substantially planar member shaped as a cross-section through the three-dimensional entity at a first position, and a second planar member shaped as a cross-section through the three-dimensional entity at a second position, having a particular geometric relationship to the first position. The display apparatus is characterized in that the planar members are joined in the same geometrical relationship from which the cross-sections are derived, thereby creating a suggestion of the three-dimensional entity. In many embodiments planar members are suitably slotted to be joined to one another in the geometrical relationship.
In still another aspect of the invention a method for simulating a three-dimensional entity in an advertising display is provided, comprising the steps of (a) determining a first planar shape as a first cross-section of the three-dimensional entity taken at a first position relative to the three-dimensional entity; (b) creating a first planar element in the first planar shape; (c) determining a second planar shape as a second cross-section of the three-dimensional entity at a second position relative to the three-dimensional entity, the second position having a particular geometric relationship to the first position; (d) creating a second planar element in the second planar shape; and (e) joining the two planar elements in the particular geometric relationship, thereby creating a planar assembly suggesting the three-dimensional entity.